Back in October, Microsoft unveiled a pair of dual screen concept devices that grabbed plenty of headlines. The Surface Duo which is the brand’s first dual-screen smartphone running on Android and the Surface Neo which is essentially a larger tablet version of the Duo with Windows 10X on board. Both are expected to arrive for the 2020 holiday shopping season but Microsoft is giving software developers a head start.
Today, Microsoft released its Surface Duo preview SDK complete with an emulator and Java frameworks, allowing developers to begin experimenting with the two-screen form factor on Android. We also got more details about the actual functioning and handling of apps on the dual-screen setup. You will be able to drag and drop, it will support touch and pen interaction as well as more potential app scaling and interaction patterns down the road.
By default apps will take up the full screen and you will then be able to resize them in window mode, split-screen or a dual view of the same app on both screens. There’s also the option to have a companion pane view of an app as well as double-portrait or double-landscape layouts. Microsoft is aiming to deliver a multitasking experience for various use cases and will add even more functionality going forward. The Windows 10X preview SDK is expected to arrive on February 11.
In context – this feels even more magical. pic.twitter.com/8yLLoioE1K — Jonas Daehnert (@PhoneDesigner) January 22, 2020
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